Three other victims are at a local hospital.

CITRA — Marion County investigators dug in the charred rubble of an old wood house Tuesday, searching for the cause of a nighttime fire that killed five children and injured three adults.

"I lost my whole family in one lick," said Robert Cole of Kissimmee, who rushed to the scene after seeing morning television news reports about the blaze.

In addition to his five grandchildren — three boys and two girls — Cole's ex-wife and two daughters also lived in the home.

The family was asleep when the fire started about 10:30 p.m. Monday, Marion County Fire Rescue spokeswoman Miranda Iglesias said. The three boys — Joseph Jordan, 15; Austin Jordan, 13; and William Jordan III, 8 — all died in the fire.

The two girls — Shyanne Jordan, 12, and Trenity Jordan, 6 — were pulled out through a window by firefighters but died as they were being taken to the hospital, Iglesias said.

Their aunt, 21-year-old Kyla Cole, was in critical condition after being pulled out by neighbors and airlifted to Shands Hospital in Gainesville with second-degree burns.

Rescue crews took the children's 31-year-old mother, Krista Jordan, and their 54-year-old grandmother, Linda Cole, to Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala. Their conditions were not available.

Lt. Robby Stephens of the State Fire Marshal's Office said the fire possibly ignited in the front part of the living-room porch near a radiator-type electrical heater and a basket of clothing. However, the age of the home's wooden frame and faulty electrical wiring could also have been a factor.

"There are too many factors to make a specific determination as to the cause," Stephens said. "There is not a lot left to help put the pieces back into the jigsaw."

"This thing went fast; it was quick enough to where neighbors reacted almost immediately," Stephens said, but the family was "almost in an impossible situation."

The children were found in various rooms. The arrangement of furniture likely contributed to their entrapment, Stephens said. A smoke detector was found, but it wasn't working.

"It's an absolute tragedy. It's unbelievable to have this many deaths in one fire, an entire family," he said.

The family's three dogs also died inside the home.

Dennis Flood, who lives in a 40-foot Winnebago next to the home, said he was watching wrestling on TV Monday night when he heard crackling outside.

Thinking it was a falling tree, Flood peered out his window only to find the front of his neighbor's home on fire.

He said he woke neighbors, but the heat and smoke were so overwhelming that it was difficult to move closer and try to rescue the family.

"We were screaming their names, but we couldn't find the kids," Flood said, adding the family had moved into the home a few years ago.

"It all happened so quick," said Flood, who has seven children of his own. "I've been crying and puking all morning. How am I going to tell my children their best friends are dead?"

Neighbor Angela Stroud told The Associated Press she helped pull the adults out of the home by smashing the windows, injuring her hand in the process.

When firefighters arrived, the rural home just off U.S. Highway 301 had been burning for a while and was almost completely engulfed in flames.

The 1,400-square-foot home sat along a sandy road bordered by horse ranches and mobile homes. Little was left for investigators to dig through Tuesday except charred wood.

Flood said the family recently celebrated Joseph's 15th birthday with cake, ice cream and a family fishing trip. Cole said he last saw the children on Christmas Eve last year. He said they were decent, fun-loving children.

Since October 2009, Marion County fires have killed 12 people, nine of them children, Iglesias said. The county has been handing out free devices to residents since 2006 and performing safety checks at the request of homeowners, Iglesias said.

The three oldest children attended North Marion Middle School, while the youngest were at Anthony and Sparr elementary schools. Grief counselors were on hand at all three schools and saw more than 100 kids, according to public-relations officer Kevin Christian of the Marion County public schools.

"Most of them [students] were able to handle it, but others were so emotionally distraught that they had to be picked up by their parents," Christian said.

Back at the fire scene, Lane Hatcher, a 13-year-old friend of the Jordan children, stared blankly at a blackened chair in the scorched back room — one of the few things remaining intact inside the home.

His eyes betrayed the strength he tried to muster as he described games he used to play with his neighbors.